I Won't Regret Spending Time With You
by BlackSunday
Summary: Harry meets up with a girl at a Masquerade Ball, but why does she remind him of someone close to him?
1. The Ball

Disclaimer – I don't own anything, blah blah blah.

A/N – I promise this will be a H/Hr fic in the not too distant future.

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It is possible to feel lonely in a crowded room. Harry felt the truth in this statement as he, the vanquisher of Voldemort, stood alone in a room full of the other students in 7th year. This masquerade ball was supposed to be in celebration of Voldemort's defeat little more than a week ago, yet the only people that had congratulated Harry were the people that were there when he successfully destroyed Voldemort.

Harry shifted his weight from his left foot to his right foot, and leaned back against the wall. He looked over to the dance floor, and caught the sight of Ron slow dancing with Lavender. Harry couldn't help but smile – Ron had been trying to find an excuse to talk to Lavender for months, and now, here he was with his arms around her neck. Harry was happy for his friend, he was glad that at least one of the two had found someone.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes. Hermione had also found someone, or so it seemed. She always had a look of desire in her eyes these days, even though she never spoke of the person who had successfully captured her heart. She never seemed to be around anymore, and Harry missed her incredibly. As for Harry, well he hadn't found anyone, even though he was now free to do so. That was why he was stood alone in the corner of the Great Hall, watching every other person in 7th year dancing with someone.

Harry had chosen his mask for this ball specially, as the one he had chosen was able to cover up his scar, as well as matching the dark blue of his dress robes. He didn't see the point of him being there, after all, he had no date, and it seemed as if every other person in the year did, so the likelihood of someone asking him to dance was next to none. It was his own fault really. He didn't ask the one he wanted to the dance in the first place.

He looked over to the far side of the room, which had been decorated in scarlet and gold in his honour, and saw another solitary person, wearing the most flattering dark red dress robes that Harry had seen in his life. He studied the person (who he had decided was female), and came to the conclusion that she was the most beautiful person in the room, even with her mask on.

Harry watched Professor Dumbledore hand the girl a glass of champagne, and he studied the way she smiled a perfectly polite smile at the headmaster. Dumbledore engaged the girl in polite conversation for a few moments, until he was called over to the dance floor to dance with Professor Sinistra. Harry decided that now was the time to talk to her, after all, masks were to be removed at midnight, and Harry had not danced with anyone yet.

He slowly made his way across the vast room to her, walking underneath the floating candles that illuminated the masks and dress robes that featured predominately inside the walls of the Great Hall. His route was only disturbed once, by a drunken Draco Malfoy who shook his hand and congratulated him in killing 'Wobblymort'. Harry was only about five feet away from the girl when he realised he had nothing to say to her.

After stopping and pondering for a minute or so, he decided that:

'Would you like to dance with me' would suffice. He continued over to the girl, and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned towards him and said:

"Yes?" before draining the last of the champagne from her glass. He replied:

"Would you… erm… would you like to dance with me?" She smiled at him, that same perfect polite smile that she gave to Dumbledore, and nodded. He offered his arm to her, which she took, and walked to the dance floor with her.

As soon as they got to the dance floor a slow song began, and Harry immediately got nervous. What was it about this girl that he recognised? He'd never seen her before in any of his lessons, yet she exuded an intelligent air about her. She tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder and looked up to him with deep blue eyes before placing her arms around his neck. Harry immediately placed his hands on the small of her back, leaving the two of them standing in a very intimate position. The two began to dance, ignoring all others around them and focusing only on each other.

Harry couldn't think where he recognised the girl that had her arms around him from, as she had a distinctive…something about her. Harry and the beautiful girl were dancing themselves closer and closer to midnight, and it appeared that neither wanted to let the other go. Both participants were eager to hold on to their partner, but as the bell struck the first chime of midnight, the girl released her grip on Harry, and started to run across the hall.

Harry soon caught up with her, as 7 years of Quidditch had improved his stamina well. He turned her around, and said to her:

"Why are you running away? Weren't you having a good time dancing with me?"

The girl suddenly looked tearful, and said:

"Yes. I've had a fantastic time, I've really enjoyed your company, but I don't think you're ready to see who I am yet."

With that, she ran off again, leaving Harry standing alone once again in the room full of people kissing each other. Harry couldn't stand being alone in that room again, so he began walking towards the lake. As he neared the tree that he often sat underneath, he saw the girl who he had danced with. He decided against sitting with her, and turned back towards the lake. As he began his journey, he heard the girl shout:

"Harry!" as she ran towards him.

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A/N – I'm going to leave it there. I don't know when I'll be able to update again, due to GCSEs, but I wanted to get this little idea out of my head.


	2. The Morning After

A/N – I'd like to thank my reviewers from Chapter 1 – readtoachieve, bamaslamma29, kara, fan, kim5188, Mz. Riskay, kapustahead111, Michele, missradcliffe, Underground, Tristana, Jane and Adam and Harrypottermaster.

Disclaimer – Same as Chapter 1

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_ Harry couldn't stand being alone in that room again, so he began walking towards the lake. As he neared the tree that he often sat underneath, he saw the girl who he had danced with. He decided against sitting with her, and turned back towards the lake. As he began his journey, he heard the girl shout:  
__"Harry!" as she ran towards him._

Harry turned in the direction that the speaker was running from, and waited for her to reach him. As she approached him, she said:  
  
"I'm sorry for the scene I caused at the ball. I'm just not ready for you to know who I am yet."  
  
The girl kissed Harry chastely and gently, but with a slight urgency and without removing her mask. Harry returned the girl's kiss, whilst thinking:  
  
_'I've finally found someone for myself. Now I don't have to be the only one of the Trio that has no-one.'  
_  
The girl broke off the kiss as suddenly as she had started it, and began walking back to the castle, without saying another word to Harry. He watched her until he could no longer establish whether he was seeing her or a shadow, and walked towards the tree that she had sat under previously.  
  
_'Who is that girl? I know her from somewhere, but I can't think where. I'm going to find out who she is someday.'  
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_  
Harry awoke the next morning abruptly, put on his old broken glasses that lay on his bedside table, and glanced across the room at Dean's alarm clock, which read 9:47. There seemed to be no one left in his dorm room apart from him, which worried Harry, until he realised that it was n fact a Sunday, and therefore, he wasn't late for any of his lessons. Harry didn't think that he would be able to cope with any of Snape's snide comments that morning.  
  
Harry dressed quickly, and made his way down to the common room, where Hermione was perched, as usual, on one of the large squashy chairs by the fireplace with _Hogwarts: A History_ sitting on her knee. Harry smiled at the familiar scene, and didn't want to intrude on Hermione's solitary peace. Hermione interrupted the silence by saying:  
  
"So you've finally decided to wake up! The rest of Gryffindor is in the Great Hall, eating their breakfast, which you are consequently late for, so I went to the trouble of bringing you up some toast."  
  
Harry grinned, and made his way over to Hermione, who had placed the bundle of toast on the small coffee table in front of her. Instead of immediately grabbing the toast and stuffing all of it into his mouth, as he was very much tempted to do, he stretched over the arm of the chair and dragged Hermione into a bone-crushing hug, book and all, and gave her a rather large kiss on the cheek. Hermione looked at him sternly, in a way that reminded him greatly of Professor McGonagall, and said:  
  
"Now, Mr Potter. Whatever was that for?"  
  
Harry laughed, and replied, "Well, Miss Granger, I did that because I haven't seen you properly for absolutely ages. You've been so busy over the last few months, that you've had no time for Harry! Me! Your best friend! I know we've only just gotten rid of Voldemort, and yes, I do mean us, but I want you more involved in my life. I want you to be there to look down your nose at me when I'm covered in mud and getting it all over your lovely Head Girl suite, I want you there to have silly adventures with me and Ron, to get into trouble and break as many school rules as we can by the end of the year. What d'ya say?"  
  
It was Hermione's turn to laugh. "It seems to me, Mr Potter, that you've got the entire of the rest of my year planned out! I say bring it on, but be prepared to face my wrath as Head Girl of Hogwarts from time to time if you and Ron do things that I disapprove of. Now tell me," she said as she leant closer to Harry, her lips only millimetres away from his, making his heart race, "What's going on between Ron and Lavender. I mean, it's so obvious that they fancy each other, but when are they going to get it through their thick skulls that they like each other?" She leaned back, and Harry released the breath that he had unconsciously been holding.  
  
_'Why is she making me feel this way?'  
  
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Harry spent the majority of his Advanced NEWT classes on Monday and Tuesday thinking about the effect that Hermione was having on him. By Wednesday he'd had enough, and decided that he was just being a hormonal teenage boy, and that although she was a very attractive girl, he had no interest in her.  
  
'_I know that if I wanted her, she would have nothing to do with me. She doesn't see me that way, I'm just Harry, her bodyguard and best friend. I'm someone she'll confide in and whose shoulder she'll cry on. Why shouldn't I want her though? She's beautiful, she's intelligent, I think she's prefect, and what's more, there's no Voldemort to stop us being together.'  
_  
Hermione was thinking similar thoughts:  
_'Why did he hug me like that on Sunday? And why did I feel like I wanted to kiss him when I asked him about Ron and Lavender? Why am I always so inquisitive? ARGH!!!!'  
  
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Friday night had come around too slowly for both Harry and Hermione. With it being the weekend, Hermione had no Head Girl duties, and therefore asked both Harry and Ron if they wanted to join her for a midnight pizza and ice-cream talking session in her room. Ron had declined, saying that although the pizza and girly chat was tempting, Lavender had already asked him to teach her to play Wizarding Chess. Harry, however, had jumped at the chance to speak with Hermione, which she thought was because of his statement on the previous Sunday morning.  
  
Harry arrived at Hermione's room, knowing the password and let himself into the small common room that she shared with the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy. He knew that he was ten minutes early, but he didn't want to sit around the Gryffindor common room waiting. Harry knew that Hermione wouldn't be ready, so he sat down on the green and red sofa, and selected a copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_ from the bookcase in the corner.  
  
When Hermione had dressed and found Harry's favourite pizza and ice cream (Ham and Mushroom with extra Mushrooms and Triple Chocolate) in her kitchenette, she went down to her common room to wait for him. She opened the door that separated her bedroom from the common room and saw Harry reading a book on the couch. She coughed, which alerted him, and he put the book down, before saying:  
  
"Wow, don't we scrub up well?" and walking over to hug her. As he went to break away from the embrace, he found his lips brushing gently across hers, causing him to jerk backwards, and nearly fall over. He blushed nearly as much as she did, before placing the book back in the bookcase and following her into her room, thinking:  
  
_'This is definitely going to be one of those nights.'_

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A/N - That's it for this chapter! I'm sorry I haven't updated for a while, but I've had all of my exams, the stress of leaving school, sorting out with college I'm going to, going on holiday, watching old friends move away, going on holiday and stuff. I'll try and update sooner, just to keep the reviewers happy :D

BlackSunday x


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